


[COMPLETE] Snatched by the Seekies

by MeltyMetroid



Series: Ribbonissa Shorts [2]
Category: ARMS (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, filled with headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 08:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16472003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyMetroid/pseuds/MeltyMetroid
Summary: When six ARMS fighters go missing during a halloween party at a creepy hotel, those left will have to face their fears to rescue them. Halloween special!





	1. The Pumpkin Party

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Reader beware, you’re in for a scareeee!~~
> 
> Well, not really. It’s not much of a scary fic - it leans much more to the goofy and funny side! It’s a little Halloween treat with a not-too-serious story and some little nuggets of lore thrown in there too.
> 
> All chapters will be uploaded today (Halloween 2018) pretty much as soon as I've proofread them! But if you're looking for the weekly Wednesday upload of Broken Glass, I'm afraid this is taking that slot for today - so Broken Glass will be back on Saturday.
> 
> Enjoy!

_“Spoo-oo-oo-ooky!”_ Min Min sang cheesily, vibrating her vocal chords, as she stopped the car and looked up at their destination with an excited grin. The setting sun was lighting the sky in an array of burnt orange hues, but all that came to deep blackness at the silhouette of the hotel in the near distance.

Ribbon Girl ran her eyes over the tower. “I mean, it’s just a hotel... Hardly much to get scared about.” She shrugged. The hotel was _kinda_ ominous, sure, but nothing screamed ‘haunted’. “I figure Coyle lives in a scarier place than _this._ ”

“Oh dang, _Ribs ain’t scared?_ ” Min Min smirked, opening the door and getting to her feet. “That’s how we KNOW it ain’t scary!”

Ribbon Girl looked to her girlfriend from across the roof of the car, a soft smile on her face, as she shut the passenger side door beside her. “Then that’s how you should also know that _your costume_ isn’t scary either~”

“It’s not _supposed_ to be scary!” Min Min remarked, readjusting the nurse’s cap on her head. It felt a bit more likely to fall off than her usual beanie - and she wasn’t quite happy about the thought of that happening. “Well it _is_ , sort of, but it’s more than that! It’s the _perfect_ Halloween costume, _mathematically._ Can’t be beat!”

“Well it’s not _sexy_ or _funny_ , either!” Ribbon Girl returned. “It _is_ kinda cute, so I’ll give you _that_ . But it’s really only cute because _you_ are~”

“Okay, let’s rewind.” Min Min insisted, the smirk still spread across her lips. She struck a finger to her cheek, where several obviously fake stitch marks were drawn in purple paint. “Scars? That’s _scary._ I ain’t just a nurse, I’m a nurse who’s been in some tragic motorbike accident or somethin’.” She motioned her hand across her medical dress. “The whole nurse thing? _Sexy_ . They’re up there with maids and flight attendants, it’s a _staple_ of sexiness!”

Coming around to the other side of the car now, she took Ribbon Girl’s hand as they turned to the hotel and began to walk the distance.

“Then, sure, cute or whatever - you said I had that covered, so...” She shrugged. “That just leaves funny. And if there’s any part of that Halloween costume super mix I’m lacking, I guess it’s there. _But!_ ” She fluttered her eyes smugly. “ _That’s why I intend to pull the mother of all Halloween pranks tonight!_ Just you wait, it’ll be HILARIOUS! Juuust gotta keep a good eye out for the _victims._ ”

“Mm.” Ribbon Girl shook her head, that smile still across her cheeks. “I hope you’ve thought of something _actually_ funny. I don’t want you embarrassing me in front of all the others!”

“It’ll be great.” Min Min reaffirmed, stepping out onto the dirt path leaving from the car park’s concrete.

The distance between the car park and the hotel building was _bizarrely_ long. About a fifteen minute walk, or maybe twenty if you take your time. Why would they put the two so far apart? It was just inconvenient. And there really wasn’t much around here in general - just a great big forest. No shops or attractions or water parks... Odd place for a hotel, right?

But at least it was quite a _perfect_ place for a Halloween party. It just had the right kind of atmosphere around it, being all on its lonesome and obscured from the outside world by thick pine trees... It was something of an unintentional haunted house - not one that’s _actually_ haunted, mind you, but like the kind that get set up around October. No wonder Master Mummy chose this as the spot for their Halloween party.

The ARMS League fighters were all set to get together and enjoy the night right here at this lonely hotel - no business discussion necessary, just partying! They had a whole ballroom reserved for just them, and Master Mummy had apparently gone to great lengths to decorate the place for their arrival.

The first such decoration could be seen hanging above the double doors of the entrance - a paper banner of black bats! ...Not the _scariest_ of things, sure, but at least it was thematically appropriate.

“The bats _are_ scarier than your costume.” Ribbon Girl smirked as they passed through the doors.

Min Min scoffed. “Says the girl dressed as a _cat!_ ”

She stuck her tongue out at her, the whiskers drawn on her cheeks raising slightly, before turning her attention back to the hotel lobby. “...Looks clean!” She always felt a bit weary staying at hotels she was unfamiliar with and had told Min Min during the car ride over that, had this one _not_ been up to her standards, they would be making the drive back _tonight._

“Yeah, _real_ clean...” Min Min squinted. “So clean they... Don’t even have any... _People?_ ”

She was right - the entire lobby was _completely_ empty. No one was there to greet them, no one stood at either side of the reception desk, no one waited in the seating area... And the only cars out front ( _very_ out front, of course) were those that they recognised as belonging to their fellow fighters. Why was it so deserted? And not just of other visitors, but deserted of hotel staff too?

A chill breezed over them as they stood in the silent lobby, with little but the quiet hum of the lights above to calm them.

“...I’ve got a weird feeling about this place.” Ribbon Girl mumbled uncertainly. Perhaps they’d be heading back tonight after all.

“Oh!” Min Min struck a finger forward to the back wall. A small print-out was taped there, bearing some clipart of a pumpkin and an arrow pointing to their right. “Guess that’s where the party is.” Min Min shrugged, turning in the direction they’d been instructed to.

Two large double doors separated them from the hotel’s ballroom. With a pull of the handles, they slowly swung open to reveal a dimly lit room with smoke machine produced mist effects and cheesy Halloween decorations laid all over. The sound of music played from one distant corner of the room, behind the crowd of - Ah, _all their fellow fighters were here!_

“That’s more like it!” Min Min smiled as the two entered and shut the doors behind them, shutting out the light from the lobby. It was pretty dark in here, save for the fancy colour-changing lights up above, but the darkness probably helped to mask that there’d only be about 15 of them attending this party. Not the largest of turnouts, after all.

“Hey hey!” Master Mummy grinned, approaching the two of them from nearby. “Glad you could make it. Great costumes! Shame they don’t match. Or are you supposed to be a vet, Min?”

“I don’t know if I wanna go for a joke about getting discounts at Sam’s Club or a joke about giving Ribbon Girl medical exams...” Min Min smirked back, earning her a sly nudge from her girlfriend. “You look great, though!”

Master Mummy, who was robed in an Egyptian-styled gown adorned with fine golden trimmings, readjusted his royal headdress with a pleased smile. “Spring Man said I had a great ‘mummy pharaoh’ outfit. Had to remind him the mummy part _wasn’t_ a costume!”

Min Min snorted, and Ribbon Girl gave a similarly soft chuckle. “Is everyone here, then? Sorry we’re so late, it’s hard to get Min off her butt sometimes...” Min Min rolled her eyes at this - it was _always_ Ribbon Girl who took forever to get ready.

“Everyone should be here by now!” Master Mummy nodded. “Feel free to go mingle! We’ve got alllll night.” He waved slightly as he turned to head back into the crowd. “Happy Halloween, ladies!”

The two waved back to him as he left. “You wanna get us some drinks, then?” Ribbon Girl motioned to Min Min.

She struck a hand out and recentered Ribbon Girl’s cat-ear headband. “Something tells me it’s all gonna be fruit punch and sodas, seeing as Mechanica’s invited.”

“Mechana-whooo?” Came a soft voice from beside them both. Mechanica looked up at them with a grin. “I love parties! Isn’t this fun?? Also they really didn’t _need_ to limit the drink selection, I’d only have tried-”

“Oh, hey kid!” Min Min smirked, patting her on the head, as Ribbon Girl put up her hand in a gentle wave. “Who you s’posed to be? Ribbon-Kid?”

She shook her head. “I’m Carrie Fernandez!” She gave a little twirl to show off her costume - a short green poncho of sorts that hung over a deep blue dress, with a large ribbon at either side and a great big bow on her collar. “She’s one of the playable characters in _Castlevania 64_ ! Oh, and _Legacy of Shadows_ . But this is the outfit from 64!” She considered pointing out that it was also unlockable as an outfit in _Legacy_ , but decided not to when her friends only responded with a somewhat confused look.

“Makes enough sense to me.” Min Min shrugged. “Castlevania’s all kinda spooky anyways, so good job!”

“They’re really lovely ribbons!” Ribbon Girl complimented, not much knowledgeable on the series.

She smiled back at them, pleased with herself all the same. “You’re a super cute kitty, Ribbon Girl! I really love your whiskers and I’m tempted to steal your ear-headband.”

Ribbon Girl bat her hand toward Mechanica. “Well I _guess_ we’ve got Min Min to thank for my makeup!” She put her ARMS around Min Min and hugged her. “You did greatttt, hun~”

“I mean it was just a couple lines and a boop on the nose...” Min Min laughed. “My cheek scar took wayyy longer. Had to look _authentic._ ” Not that it actually _did._

“Oh, yeah, I see it!” Mechanica commented, stepping up on her toes to get a better look. “Are you a zombie nurse orrrr...?”

She shrugged. “It’s scarier not to knowwwww!~”

The three of them laughed a bit, before they were suddenly approached by another two of their colleagues.

“YO, WHAT’S SHAKINNNNN’!” Kid Cobra beamed, giving Min Min a sweet fist-bump. “You guys lookin’ _sick!_ Damn, Min, that ‘fits like the _perfect_ mix’a Halloweens stuffs, _nice!_ ”

Min Min’s eyes were firmly on Ninjara, however. “...How much did that cost you?”

“...I’m Batman.” Ninjara responded, in a low voice similar to that used in the Dark Knight movies.

The three of them began to laugh subtelly. “Yeah, but _how much did it cost you?_ ”

Ninjara, hard to even really recognise under the many layers of black batsuit, simply repeated himself. “...I’m Batman.” His costume _did_ look really authentic - probably because he had easily spent _far_ too much on it.

“Yo, you spoke to Mummy, right?” Cobra hushed to them. “Was he actin’ funny to you...? He was givin’ me a weird look!”

Ribbon Girl sighed _very_ audibly and left Min Min to point out the obvious. “Dude...” She began to laugh slightly. “You’re in a _mummy_ costume.”

Kid Cobra, who was poorly wrapped in what seemed to be _toilet paper_ , put an ARM to his head like he’d just figured out the meaning of life. “Oh SNAP, that’s probably it!!” He hadn’t even considered the connection there until just now. Some things just slip your mind, y’know?

Ninjara wandered off elsewhere - possibly disappearing into the shadows like Batman would, though no one was really looking - as Kid Cobra stuck around with the others for a moment, chatting about some recent horror movies they had seen. Min Min, Kid Cobra, and Mechanica were all pretty unaffected by most horror flicks, it seemed, but Ribbon Girl was quick to protest her unhappiness with them - they were _not_ her style at all. Her style was much more-

“Evening.” Twintelle commented, stopping by the group, a glass of juice held stylishly in her left hand.

“ _...Well that’s not fair._ ” Ribbon Girl mumbled, somewhat peeved. Twintelle was dressed in a typical college cheerleading outfit - obviously going for the _sexy_ part of Halloween, rather than the fun, the cute, or the scary. “My _usual_ outfit is supposed to be cheerleader-y!”

“Oh _please._ ” Twintelle smirked. “If you think _this_ is encroaching on your style, you clearly haven’t run into Coyle yet...” She rattled a pom-pom at Kid Cobra’s face. “You left Lola and I mid-sentence, genius. Hardly a way to treat some ladies. You going to come finish that thought?”

Twintelle immediately turned and began heading back to the other side of the room. “Oh dip, I kinda did cut out on ‘em when I saw y’all come in.” Kid Cobra mumbled. “Finally got ‘em talkin’ to me and I just slithered off! I gotta work on my attention span, man.” He flicked a finger gun back and forth across the three of them. “Don’t be strangers, yo! I’m off to talk up the _ladiez._ ” And with that, he too head off.

“Right!” Ribbon Girl nodded, before tilting her head to Min Min. “Drinks?”

“Oh, yeah!” She returned, before leading the way to the refreshments table lined up at the side of the wall. It was pretty much what you’d expect - a punch bowl, some cups, some soda cans, and a bunch of plates stacked with various finger-foods. “Oh damnnn, they got some good snacks too!” She pinched a few hotdog sausage and gulped them down.

Ribbon Girl picked up the ladle from the punch bowl and scooped some juice into a cup, handing the drink to Mechanica before pouring another for herself. “So your dad’s okay with you staying the night here?”

“Mmhmm! I mean, I’m with all of you so it’s probably even safer than staying alone at my warehouse like usual.” She brushed her hair a bit. “He wouldn’t let me dye my hair blue, though. No wonder no one’s recognising my costume!”

“Well if you need anything, you can always come knock on our room.” She smiled. “It’s lucky we got the key cards sent ahead of time, though. We didn’t even see any staff when we came in.”

“Ah, you didn’t see anyone either?” Came another voice approaching. It was Spring Man now, dressed in a black and red cape, his signature spring-hair dyed deep black - making Mechanica instantly jealous. “I thought that was kinda weird. It’s been strangely quiet ‘cept for all of us, right?” His voice was a little different, as he had to talk through the fake vampire teeth in his mouth.

Mechanica gasped. “Oh!! Dracula!!” She smiled, reaching into her pocket. “ _I’ll defeat you!!_ ” She threw a small lime-green glow stick at him, and then knelt down to pick it up again.

“Ah.” Spring Man smiled. “Ya got me!” Mechanica smiled happily in return. Spring Man didn’t recognise the connection to Castlevania with Mechanica’s outfit either, but it was enough to figure she just also wanted to slay Dracula like _everyone_ seemed to want.

“Wait, you didn’t see _anyone?_ ” Ribbon Girl repeated. “No staff at all?”

“No one.” He shrugged. “And I was the second to turn up. Only Mummy was here already when I arrived.”

“That’s... Weird...” Ribbon Girl mumbled, taking a sip of her drink. It seemed vaguely raspberry-flavoured.

“Y’know what else is weird?” A bubbly voice came from beside them, as Lola approached the punch bowl to pour herself a drink. “The amounta views Cobra gets on his snakeboard stuffs. How’s he pull in a crowd like that?? I gotta start livestreaming the circus or somethin’.”

Ribbon Girl turned toward Lola, who was dressed in a more purple-and-black toned copy of her usual outfit. Though it seemed to be torn in places... And stained with some dark splotches here and there. As if it were dried bl-

Lola turned to face Ribbon Girl, causing her to stumble back a few steps. The low light lit Lola’s face in deep shadows, but it was clear that tonight her clown makeup was _drastically_ more exaggerated than usual, and it had streaks of red dribbling down from both her lips and the sunken black circles painted around her eyes. She grinned, baring a set of sharp yellowed teeth similarly drenched in red.

“ _Y-Yikes_ , Lola...!” Ribbon Girl muttered, her heart pounding in her chest. “That’s _terrifying!_ ”

She grinned. “S’Halloween, dummy!” She turned her vision down to Mechanica. “You’re not scared, are ya?”

“A-A little bit...” Mechanica admitted softly.

Min Min munched another chicken strip down and licked her fingers. “S’good stuff, guys.” Content with her feast for now, she licked her fingertips and turned to the others, finally catching Lola in her vision. She turned back instantly, her heart rate soaring up, almost choking on her snack. She put her hands over her eyes. “NOPE. NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE- _NOPE!_ ” She shook her head back and forth rapidly.

“Aw c’mon!” Lola shrugged. “Thought you were done bein’ scared of me!”

“Shuuuuut up! Shut up. _Shut up!_ ” Min Min shook, still hiding herself away.

Ribbon Girl put an ARM around Min Min. “ _Maybe shoulda seen this coming, Lola..._ ” She mumbled, rather disgruntled by Lola’s lack of care.

Lola simply shrugged and walked off, perhaps with something of a tinge of pride in her smile as she did so.

“...You okay, hun?” Ribbon Girl directed to her cowering girlfriend.

“Y-Yeah...” Min Min replied, standing up straight again, still a little shaky. “ _God_ that got me bad. _Yick._ ” She shuddered, then wiped a tear from her eye and sniffled.

The whirring of mechanical parts chimed as BYTE approached them. “Hello citizens. Is anyone in need of assistance?” He directed the question, understandably, to Min Min.

“I-I’m okay, don’t worry ‘bout it...”

BYTE nodded. “By the way, please understand that my attire is simply a seasonal costume.” His usual blue police paint-job was replaced with a far more gold and orange one now, and the helmet-shaped headpiece bore more similarity to a fireman’s helmet than it did a policeman’s. “I am _not_ equipped to put out fires and I am still a police officer.”

“O-Okay...” Min Min shrugged.

BYTE turned to Ribbon Girl. “Hello citizen. Please understand that my attire is simply a seasonal-”

“O-Oh, I heard you when you told Min Min...” She smiled awkwardly.

He nodded once again, before turning to Mechanica. “Hello citizen. Please understand-”

“You’re not a fireman, I know!” She smiled.

“I heard you too!” Spring Man added, before BYTE could again repeat himself.

“Hey,” Min Min sniffled a bit, still getting over the fright, “where’s BARQ?”

BYTE looked down at his torso chassis and quietly pressed a button atop the fire station logo sprayed onto it. A moment later, BARQ slowly wheeled over from the other side of the room.

“OH!” Min Min grinned suddenly, dropping down on her knees to look at BARQ. “Oh man you are _so_ cute!” She hugged BARQ, who’s paint job tonight resembled that of a dalmation. “Ohhh aren’t you just the CUTEST little fire dog!!” He played a happy bark sound clip in response.

“Please understand that BARQ is also not equipped to put out fires and is also still a police officer.” BYTE added.

Ribbon Girl tapped BYTE on the shoulder as Min Min began to once again repeat her usual dog treat joke to BARQ. BYTE turned to her. “H-Hey! Okay, um, you have... Like, a heartbeat sensor or something, right?”

“Correct. Your current heart rate is registering at 92 beats per minute.”

“That’s not what I- wait, is that high? That sounds high.” She squinted slightly, before shaking her head. “Anyway, can you tell me how many people there are in the hotel? Like, how many heartbeats you can detect? Spring and I haven’t seen anyone who isn’t an ARMS fighter...”

“There are thirteen heartbeats that I can detect within the building.” BYTE kindly answered.

“Okay, so all of us except you, BARQ, and Springtron... Wait, does Helix have a heartbeat?” She bit her lip. “And what about Master Mummy...?”

“I have to inform others of my lack of fire equipment. Have a pleasant evening.” BYTE nodded, bidding them farewell as he left on his way. After a moment, BARQ also left Min Min’s ARMS, though she was disappointed to have to let him go.

Min Min returned to her feet, wiping her eyes one last time. “ _Anyway..._ ” She sighed, embarrassed from freaking out like that. “I need something to cheer me up. Whatcha think Brass is dressed up as?”

“Frankenstein, apparently.” Coyle answered, coming up to join them all. “Master Mummy’s not taken too kindly to it, given he actually _was_ resurrected.”

The group turned to face her and Ribbon Girl’s face fell. Min Min immediately burst into hysterical laughter, kneeling down on the floor to keep herself from falling.

“What’s with the _‘ribbonasty’_ look?” Coyle asked the bewildered Ribbon Girl, whose face was beginning to turn red.

“Th-That is _so_ not funny!!” She stammered grumpily.

A ramen ARM slowly came up and grasped Ribbon Girl by the shoulder, and Min Min did her best to steady herself up on her. “SH-SHE SHE’S Y- SHE’S _YOU!_ AHAHAHAHAAAAA!” She wheezed.

Dr. Coyle was dressed head-to-toe in Ribbon Girl’s iconic fighting outfit - the pink skirt, the black shorts, the large striped bow... It was all identical, save for the lack of a ponytail and, of course, the copper ARMS where ribbon ARMS should be - though some pink and white gloves were draped over them, so it was mostly the shoulders that stood out. “It’s my idea of ‘scary’.” Coyle smirked.

Ribbon Girl scrunched up her face, blushing hard. “You wouldn’t have liked it if one of us came dressed as _you!_ ”

“Oh? I _wanted_ Mechanica to come as me!” She turned to face the young girl beside the others. “I thought she’d look _so_ cute. A little mini-me...!” She sighed deeply. “But she had her heart set on Cathy Flamingo, so I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Carrie Fernandez...” Mechanica pouted.

Min Min wheezed for air, finally regaining herself a bit. “ _God_ my ribs hurt. I-I mean my body ribs, not my _Ribs_ -ribs.” She laughed slightly again. “Great stuff, Coyle. Great stuff. Top marks. _Damn._ ”

She struck a finger out to Min Min. “Don’t start hitting on me.”

“Do I dare ask what my robot self is dressed as today...?” Spring Man sighed, hoping it wasn’t also a Dracula get-up.

“He’s- Ah, well, it’s better to see for yourself. I’ll try to call him, I guess.” She pulled a little dog whistle from her pocket and blew through it. No sound was made, but before too long a familiar face wobbled over.

“Ooo?” Helix blobbed.

“Ugh, no, not _you._ ” Coyle sighed. “Why do you always come no matter _what_ signal I send out?”

The others all looked at Helix with something of an awe. “H-He’s... _Gold?!_ ” Ribbon Girl muttered, speaking for all of them.

“Mm.” Coyle nodded, prodding Helix’s golden goo with her finger. “It’s food colouring. He wanted to be a _Minion._ ”

Alongside his golden goo, he appeared to be draped in some dusty blue overalls that were rather moist from contact with his body. The digital goggles on his face were rounder, too. Not a bad effort from Coyle. How motherly!

“Ah!” Coyle nodded toward the opposite side of the group. “ _There’s_ Springtron.”

They turned, and Ribbon Girl jumped back again. “I-IS THAT A _FACE?_ ” Her eyes ran over the figure before them all - Springtron, dressed in a stylish leather jacket, and with a fleshy human face. Or... _Half_ a fleshy human face, at least.

“Oh damn!” Min Min grinned. “He’s the Terminator!”

“Mm.” Coyle confirmed. “His choice, but it seemed fitting.”

“Wh-What’s a _Terminator?!_ ” Ribbon Girl stammered, turning to Min Min.

“...Wha-? _You’ve never seen Terminator?_ C’mon, hun - you’re embarrassing me here!” Min Min shook her head, disappointed.

“Right, well...” Coyle clapped her hands together. “Places to be, things to do... I mean, the place is still _here_ but the things to do involve talking to people who aren’t _you_ losers, so...” She winked at Mechanica. “Exception, of course!” She turned on her spot, her pink skirt spinning with her. “Come along, boys.” And with that, Springtron and Helix both followed her away.

“This party is _wild._ ” Min Min smirked. “I’m starting to wish I worked harder on my costume now!” Another quick snort came from her. “I can’t _believe_ she came dressed as _you!_ ”

Ribbon Girl side-eye’d her. “ _It doesn’t suit her at all._ ”

“Ohhh mannn...” Min Min shook her head, a smile plastered on her face. “It’s not gonna get any better than that.”

“I think we’ve seen just about everyone now, so I guess not.” Mechanica smiled softly too. They hadn’t actually _seen_ Brass, but could picture him dressed as Frankenstein pretty well.

“Greetings and good spirits, my friends.” Misango’s voice approached.

“Oh, right, Misango!” Min Min’s eyes lit up. She and the others turned to him. “We-” She paused, just as they all did, and stared. “... _What_ are you wearing?”

“I was told to come dressed in a ‘hallowed weens costume’.” Misango nodded, folding his ARMS. “I retrieved the appropriate attire from a local ‘store’ shortly before my arrival.”

His whole body was covered in a deep purpleish-blue bodysuit, which stretched over his muscles as best it could. A pair of tinted sun shades rested atop his forehead, and the pink unicorn-bearing shirt atop the bodysuit was-

“YOU’RE IN A _FORTNITE COSTUME,_ DUDE!!” Min Min’s jaw hung down.

He stared blankly at her. “I do not know what that is.”

Min Min erupted into laughter again, falling flat on the floor. Mechanica’s face looked like she could die from second-hand embarrassment, and both both Ribbon Girl and Spring Man looked suitably uncomfortable too.

“...Is this not appropriate attire for the situation?” Misango’s deep and gruff voice returned.

“Y-You’re fine...” Ribbon Girl sighed, trying not to look directly at him.

With a nod, Misango passed them by and was out of sight once again. It took a few more moments for Min Min to recover from her laughter, and her gut was _really_ hurting by the time she was done, but soon enough she too was back on her feet.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours passed. Some snacks were had over by the refreshments table, some chit chat was made with the various other fighters, and even some dancing was done by some of the more unashamed guests.

It was getting to about midnight now, and Ribbon Girl was chit-chatting with Mechanica, Spring Man, Dr. Coyle, and Master Mummy. The conversation, though somewhat dull and unfitting for Halloween, was mostly directed on the subject of ARMS fighting being taught in school gym classes. Was it right to make children outright fight at such a young age? How does that work with the students who don’t _have_ ARMS? That didn’t seem right at all, at least not to the group of them.

“I mean we get a bunch of young tryouts at the stadium all the time.” Spring Man shrugged. “They’re usually not too aggressive, but we’re pretty quick to shut them down if they-” He paused. “H-Hold on, this is really...” He pinched a fang between his fingers and removed the fake teeth from his mouth. “It’s _really_ hard to talk with these things in.”

“...Can I try them?” Mechanica asked sweetly, after a second wondering if she should or not.

“Hm? Yeah, I guess so.” He wiped them on his cape and handed them to her.

“I guess Dracula won, then?” Master Mummy smiled softly.

“Mm!” She smiled, popping them in her mouth. “You can get bit in the game and then Carrie’s a vampire so...!” She bore her teeth to them and growled, earning a few small chuckles, and a heartfelt smile from Coyle.

“That is _adorable._ ” Coyle sighed warmly.

“It’s not supposed to be _adorable!_ ” Mechanica pouted. “It’s supposed to be scary!!”

“Well I don’t know if it’s _scary..._ ” Ribbon Girl smiled too.

Mechanica turned over her shoulder and looked up at Springtron, who’s fake human eye stared right back down at her from behind his sunglasses. She growled again, baring her fake vampire teeth. The human side of Springtron’s face gave an exaggerated look of terror and then, in an immense overreaction, Springtron exploded into a ton of tiny little bits.

The room fell silent as everyone turned to the scattering bits of metal and fake flesh. “OH _COME ON!_ ” Coyle grunted. “Real funny. _Real_ funny.” She grumbled, bending down and picking up the little black box that stored all of Springtron’s important information and memory files. “All that for a _joke?_ It’ll take _forever_ to rebuild you... _Stupid thing_...”

Mechanica quietly removed her teeth and gave them back to Spring Man with a thankful smile, who put them in his pocket.

Coyle stood again, clearly frustrated by Springtron’s annoying overreaction. “Well, that’s _one_ of us ‘scared to death’ already. Who’s next?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The party went on just as it had, and sooner or later Ribbon Girl decided to regroup with her girlfriend and see what she’d been up to. After searching the ballroom for a bit, she soon found Min Min set aside toward the corner of the room, sitting on the floor with Ninjara, Kid Cobra, and Misango.

“Heya, Min!” She smiled, approaching them.

“Eyyyy, what’s up kitty cat!” Min Min smiled up to her.

“What are you guys doing...?” She tilted her head to one side, looking down at where all the others were reaching.

“S’called a wee-gey board, sis.” Kid Cobra shrugged.

“ _Ouija_.” Min Min corrected.

Ribbon Girl’s eyes sprung open. “Wow wow wow wow, what??” She looked at the lettered board laid out between them, and the little peg they all had their fingers on. “ _You shouldn’t mess with stuff like that!!_ ”

“Oh pleaseeee!” Min Min sighed. “It’s _fiiiiine._ ”

“There is a tremendous dark energy in this hotel.” Misango commented seriously.

“Oh yeah yeah.” Min Min rolled her eyes, looking back to Ribbon Girl. “He’s only sayin’ that ‘cause the board said ‘yes’ when we asked if Misango liked My Little Pony. And honestly I was kinda pullin’ it for that one.”

“I felt the presence of the dark energy when I first entered the lobby.” Misango continued.

Ribbon Girl struck an ARM out toward Misango. “ _See?_ Felt it before he came in. And we both felt something was _off_ too! _Don’t go poking it with a stick._ ”

“Relaxxxxx!” Min Min insisted, turning back to the board. “You’re a friendly spirit, aren’t you?”

The peg moved over to the word ‘no’.

“Okay, chill, that was Cobra.” Min Min mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Naw dawg, I didn’t pull it fo’ that!!”

“Okay, then it was _Ninjara._ ”

“...I’m Batman.”

“Sure. See? Nothing to worry about. It’s just some goofy fun.”

Just then, the peg moved on its own. Like _actually_ on its own, swinging over to different letters in a quick pace. It startled those holding it, to the point that they each had their fingers fall off its surface - yet it kept moving, entirely on its own now.

They all watched, stunned, as it began to spell out to them. “I-R-E-Q-U-I-R-E-S-I-X” Then it suddenly stopped again and quietly spun in place.

The group stayed quiet, unsure what to say. Ribbon Girl’s hands were over her mouth, deeply uncomfortable with what she had just seen. Misango stared at the board intently. “Bad energy.” He repeated quietly.

“Well _great._ ” Ribbon Girl muttered through her teeth. “I told you! _I told you not to poke it!_ ”

“Th-That was... Nothing...” Min Min stared at the peg, still unsure what the hell just happened.

“Anyone catch what it said??” Kid Cobra looked around. “Was faaaaar too fast fo’ me.”

“Six. It ‘requires’ _six._ What does _that_ mean? I have no clue!” Ribbon Girl threw her hands up, staring daggers at Min Min. “But I guess it’s gonna go and _get_ six, or whatever. ‘Cause you woke it up! Or let it out! Or... _Whatever_ that was!”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the lights in the room all switched off at once, and the music fell silent. Some quick yelps were heard from among them just from the surprise alone.

After a brief moment, one of them called out to the others. “Yo, anyone wanna put those lights back on? I don’t wanna step in Springtron.” Lola’s voice, it seemed.

“I-I’m flicking the light switch but it’s not doing anything!” Master Mummy shouted from across the room. He tried the lobby doors, but they were suddenly locked shut. “Someone’s locked us in, too...”

Min Min slipped her phone out of the medical dress she was wearing and switched on the flashlight setting. It seemed to illuminate only a fraction of the room as it was, however, so she searched it around the room until she could see Helix. She walked over quickly and, somewhat reluctantly, jammed her hand into him, her phone still firmly grasped with the flashlight pointed upward. The flashlight now shone through his golden gooey body, spreading an orange light all across the room.

“So what the hell’s going on?” Coyle glared at the others. Min Min, Ninjara, and Kid Cobra all collectively agreed to stay silent about the Ouija board, without any discussion necessary.

Misango, however, didn’t get the memo. He hopped to his feet quickly. “We have summoned an evil spirit through means of a dark object.”

Some groans echoed throughout the room. “Well what the heckcha do that for?!” Max Brass called out.

Suddenly a bright blue light flickered above them all, and the image of a horrifying spirit hung over them.


	2. Hall of Doors

Several people gasped. Others simply stood frozen in place.

The spirit above flew around a bit, letting out a ghastly howling noise and small child-like laughs, ever flickering in blue and white tones as it soared. It seemed to consider the fighters standing below, before dissipating into tiny little sparkles that fell down like snowflakes.

The room fell silent, save for the slight sound of something tiny tapping onto metal. And then, out of nowhere, Min Min’s phone’s flashlight began to flicker, before dying altogether. They were back in the dark.

Just as quickly as it had all started, the lights came back on. Everyone let out a quick sigh of relief, glad that whole ‘moment’ was finally over.

Min Min looked to her phone held out in her palm. The flashlight was back on now, not that it was needed, but the whole thing was  _ covered _ in gross golden Helix goo. “Yuck...” She groaned, shaking it a bit.

But... Wait. Where  _ was  _ Helix? He had been right there - Min Min had her hand  _ inside _ him!

“G-Guys?” Mechanica nervously squeaked. “Spring Man’s  _ gone... _ ”

Everyone looked around. “Twintelle’s gone too.” Coyle noted.

“And Batman!!” Kid Cobra added. “Aw hell!”

“So’s Helix and Mummy...” Min Min continued. “And Lola.” She was somewhat thankful for that last one, in honesty. That costume was  _ far _ too much.

“Six people...” Ribbon Girl mumbled. “I  _ really _ don’t like this...”

“Alright, alright, let’s stay  _ calm! _ ” Min Min insisted. “BYTE, do you know if they’re still in the building...?”

BYTE turned toward her. “I can confirm the number of heartbeats found within the designated area has not changed. The heart rates of almost of them have increased, however.”

“If they’re still in the building then we just gotta find ‘em, right?” Min Min shrugged. “They’re probably just pulling a prank on us and ducked out when the lights were off.”

“Wait...” Ribbon Girl glared. “You said  _ you _ were going to pull a prank...!”

She blinked. “Well yeah, but I meant putting that creepy doll by the punch bowl.” She pointed to the creepy looking doll lying limp by the fruit juice.

“Wait, that was YOU?!” Kid Cobra jumped. “Ah man that scared the SCALES offa me! Fair play, dude.” He gave a quick fist bump to Min Min, who seemed proud of herself.

“Right, well, let’s set off.” Coyle sighed. “I don’t like Helix being out of my sight in a building I don’t own. If he goos up the carpets they’ll probably fine me.” She opened the door to the lobby, which had unlocked again. “Come on.”

The remaining eight fighters went out into the lobby, rather happy to be out of the dimly lit ballroom. The lobby was still completely devoid of any staff or other guests, though it felt a little less empty with all eight of them standing around.

“Attention citizens.” BYTE began, earning everyone’s focus. “I have determined that this situation is in need of additional police support.”

“Ah, yes!” Ribbon Girl jumped. “Get back-up! We need lots. People who can deal with evil spirits, o-or whatever!” BYTE and intended for search-and-rescue officers, of course, but wasn’t about to turn down a citizen’s honest request.

“Yeah dawg, get the Ghostbusters!” Kid Cobra added. That much wasn’t quite as feasible, sadly.

“I will submit a signal requesting additional officers.” BYTE began. A small but unappealing beeping sound came from the side of his head. “...My signal has failed to transmit.”

“Aw heck, we’re DEAD!” Kid Cobra stammered.

“T-Try again.” Ribbon Girl nervously requested. “P-Please?”

“...My signal has failed to transmit again.” BYTE returned. “Please remain calm. I will retrieve backup myself.” He walked over to the front doors. “Estimated return time... Fifty three minutes.” And with that, both he and BARQ left the building.

Ribbon Girl groaned. Fifty three minutes wasn’t  _ too  _ bad, especially considering their discrete location, but they’d have to wait  _ here...? _

“Alright, well, while we wait for the police to arrive I think we should take a look upstairs.” Coyle commented, her ARMS folded.

The room seemed uneasy. No one seemed to agree to her plan.

“...Seriously? You’re  _ all _ scared of some ‘ghost’?” She glared.

“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!” Kid Cobra butt in, shaking the fear out of his body and building up his fighting spirit. “Let’s go, doc! Lemmie at ‘em!”

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t seem to mind him coming to stand by her. “And the rest of you...?”

Brass sighed deeply, somewhat nervous. “If it’ll help the team...” He quietly made his way to her side, standing close by to her. She quietly floated a few steps away.

“Guess that’s the plan.” Min Min began to walk over, but was stopped by a tug on her ARM.

“D-Don’t just  _ agree _ to fighting that thing!!” Ribbon Girl nervously held her. “We don’t even know what it’s capable of!”

“Well what else are we supposed to do?” She blinked.

“Wait for the police to get here!”

Coyle groaned, tapping her foot impatiently. “If  _ we _ aren’t capable of fighting it why do you think the police are...?”

“Coyle’s right, hun.” Min Min shrugged. “Better we all stick together, right?”

Ribbon Girl let out a long and uncomfortable groan. “Fiiiiiine.... Th-Then I guess I’m coming too...” She sighed deeply.

“Misango?” Coyle raised an eyebrow.

“We are up against against an unknown spirit with great power.” He commented.

“...Yeah. So are you comin’”? She began to tap her foot again.

“...In time.” He walked over to the nearby seating area. “I shall connect with the Misangan spirit to bring us guidance and strength. We cannot win without.” He sat himself down on the large and comfy sofa, crossed his legs, and began to meditate. The sight of a Brite Bomber Misango meditating on a hotel sofa sure was  _ something. _

“I’m in!” Mechanica nodded confidently, walking over. “I  _ know  _ we can beat-”

“Oh no no no  _ no! _ ” She glared. “ _ Faaaar _ too dangerous. You stay here.”

Mechanica pouted. “Isn’t it safer with you??” She turned to the pink-and-blue Misangan hero between the cushions with uncertainty.

“...Ugh, yeah, I guess it is.” Coyle sighed. “Fine, come on then. Six of us to find the other six, how fitting.”

“Maybe we need a team name!” Max Brass smirked, earning him a glare from Coyle.

“OH!” Kid Cobra struck out a finger. “ _ Mystery Incorporated! _ ”

Coyle turned her glare to him, now. “That’s  _ Scooby Doo, _ idiot.”

“No, that’s my point!” He smiled behind his mask. “We’re kinda like the Scooby Doo crew, right??” He moved his hand over each of them. “Brass is Fred, Coyle’s Daphne-”

“ _ What? _ ” Coyle interjected, unhappy with being the one who gets captured all the time.

“...Mechanica is Velma, Min is Shaggy, and Ribs is Scoob!” He continued.

They all fell silent, simply staring at him. “...Jinkies.” Mechanica commented.

“Wait, why am  _ I _ the dog??” Ribbon Girl pouted.

“Don’t worry - Scoobs is the best!” Kid Cobra reassured.

“But who’s that make you, then?” Min Min asked, pointing out he had missed himself in that lineup.

“...Oh. Uhhhh...” He thought for a while, scratching his chin. “Damn, I didn’t think this through...”

“Scrappy.” Coyle answered bluntly, causing the others to start laughing quietly.

“Wha-? Noooo!” He objected. “Dude he’s, like, the  _ worst! _ ”

“Exactly.” She added. “Are we done messing around here?”

“Yeah, let’s get started.” Max Brass nodded. “Let’s teach these ghouls a lesson n’ find our friends!”

“Good.” Coyle straightened her back. “Then let’s split up. Min Min, you and Ribbon Girl can take the-”

“Wait wait wait wait,  _ no. _ ” Ribbon Girl interrupted. “Split up?? Are you crazy??” She was, actually.

Coyle glared at her. “We’ll cover more ground this way.”

“ _ And get ourselves captured too. _ ” Ribbon Girl pouted. “If we do this we should stick together.”

“ _ Fine. _ ” She muttered through her teeth. “Then I guess we’ll do each floor one-by-one. There should be a stack of key cards in the reception desk, so we can check each room.”

“Um... Actually, if I may?” Mechanica raised her hand quietly. “...I was just thinking that, if  _ I  _ were a spooky ghost thing and  _ I _ captured six fighters, I-I’d probably put them... Somewhere specific? N-Not just randomly, I mean...” She shrugged.

“Ah!” Coyle smirked. “See? This is why I keep her around. She’s right - we don’t have to search every room, we just need to search the logical places. I’m thinking... Basement, roof, restaurant, pool...”

“Oh!” Min Min smiled, withdrawing her bedroom keycard from her medical dress. “We all had specific rooms assigned to us already, right? I mean Ribs & I are sharing a room, but the others are all on their own.”

“Also smart.” Coyle nodded. “I’d say that’s worth looking into  _ first. _ It’s the only direction this hotel’s ever given us, after all.”

“Beats checkin’ out the basement first...” Min Min mumbled, setting her card back into her pocket.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For whatever reason, the rooms assigned to the ARMS fighters happened to all be placed on the top floor of the hotel, with each of them lined up in a row. Upon noticing this, the thought silently occurred to pretty much all of them that it would have been rather annoying to be situated like that given how empty the rest of the hotel was - but now  _ none _ of them intended to stay the night here anyway, so it really didn’t matter so much.

The team came to the end of the hall where their rooms were, and stumbled right away into a rather interesting detail: each door had a fighter’s  _ name _ written on it. Max Brass was the first to notice this, running his fingers over the nameplate bearing his own title.

“That’s... Weird.” Mechanica commented. “There are rooms for all of us - Ribbon Girl, Min Min, Mechanica, Kid Cobra...” She didn’t bother to list all of them. “...But where are the rooms for the others? The ones that got taken?” There were plenty of rooms nearby, but none of them bore a nameplate like these.

“I guess they...” Ribbon Girl gulped nervously. “I-I guess they don’t have rooms because they were ‘taken’?”

“Then why aren’t there rooms for Misango and BYTE?” Brass mumbled, thinking.

“Min Min...” Coyle muttered, looking over each of the plated doors. “You said you and Ribbon GIrl were sharing a room...?”

“...Uh, yeah?” Min Min squinted. “We’re... Dating? Did you not know that until just now...? I mean we weren’t really hiding it...”

Coyle glared at her. “If you two are sharing a room,  _ why are your names on separate doors? _ ”

She was right - the first door in the sequence was marked with Ribbon Girl’s name, but Min Min’s was on the next door over. “Huh...” Min Min bit her lip. “I mean they only sent us one card?” She withdrew it again.

Ribbon Girl took the card from Min Min and looked over it - it seemed to be pretty normal. She slid it in the scanner by her own door and the door swung open. “It works for mine?”

Min Min took it back, and tried it on her own door. It also opened without error. “Weirdddd. They look like normal rooms too, right?” She peeked her head in her room - pretty normal! Just to be sure, she walked over to Ribbon Girl’s door and did the same maneuver... But then her head banged hard against an unseen surface.

“Oof! Are you okay??” Ribbon Girl jumped, kneeling by her girlfriend, who had fallen back from the thump.

“Ow...!” She held her head. “Feels like I walked into a brick wall...”

Coyle put her hand flat on the empty doorway. “...There’s no entry. There’s literally some sort of invisible wall here, we can’t get through.”

“So we can go in Min Min’s room but not Ribbon Girl’s...?” Mechanica asked, putting her own hand through Min Min’s doorway... Only to find it flat on something. “O-Oh! No, I can’t go in here...”

“Huh? But I...” Min Min got back up and stuck her ARM through the doorway of her own room. “Yeah, you  _ can _ go through here!”

Coyle stuck her hand flat where Mechanica’s had been. “Interesting... Ribbon Girl, put your hand into your room.”

As commanded, Ribbon Girl cautiously pressed her hand flat to the barrier Min Min had struck her head on - but instead found her hand could pass through without question.

“I’m thinking we can only go through the doors with our names on them.” Coyle mumbled, as Brass unlocked his own door and wagged his ARM through without worry. But Kid Cobra’s fell flat in that same doorway.

“But how does this help us?” Mechanica mumbled. “I mean they aren’t in there, right? We can see they aren’t.”

Ribbon Girl stepped into her room.

“...Wait, wha-?” Min Min blinked. She hurried over to Ribbon Girl’s room. “Wh-Where’d she go?? She just stepped inside!”

Coyle quickly took a look around in Ribbon Girl’s room from the outside. “She’s vanished... Hm.  _ Hm. _ ” She quickly hurried to the end of the room sequence, slid her keycard through the scanner, and opened the door to her own room. “I have a feeling these doors... Are actually...” She stepped through, and suddenly she was gone too.

“Wha-...?” Min Min began. “Well what the hell do we do now?”

“Go through the doors, I guess?” Max Brass shrugged, looking into his own room.

“But then we-” Min Min began again, before Brass suddenly entered his room and disappeared too. “....Grrr. How do we know these doors are safe to go through?? We’ve got no clue where we’ll end up!”

Kid Cobra shrugged, unlocking his door. “S’better than just standin’ ‘round here, right? Peace!” He disappeared in a flash.

Min Min looked down at Mechanica, disappointed. She shrugged back, a nervous laugh. “I guess we might as well follow after them...”

Reluctantly and wordlessly, Min Min agreed. She stepped through her open doorway and vanished. After unlocking her own door, Mechanica did the same.


	3. Fears I

Ribbon Girl was outside again, about two thirds of the way to the hotel from the car park. It was dark outside now, and the moonlight shimmered as it reflected on the rain pouring down.

“Wh-Wha-?!” She gasped, quickly hugging her ARMS around her. It was  _ freezing _ out here, and she was getting  _ soaked! _ But she had just been inside - what the hell happened? Where  _ was _ she? And were all the others? The-

A bolt of lightning struck near by, about twenty feet away from her. She jumped out of her skin, falling back and landing straight down in the wet mud below her. She quickly hopped to her feet again and backed up about another ten feet.

She was shaking now quite a bit. That had  _ really _ caught her off guard and she  _ hated _ lightning. Outright couldn’t  _ stand _ it. The sound of thunder always made her body tense up, and every flash coming through the curtains felt like it was right beside her. But now the lightning actually  _ was _ right beside her.

Another bolt, this one about twenty five feet behind her. She jumped again, before backing up more in the opposite direction.

Okay, okay, okay - priority number one?  _ Get the hell out of the storm. _

She turned on a dime and looked back down to where the car park stood. It was too dark to see it properly, and she wasn’t about to hope for a lightning strike to illuminate things - it’d be too quick to see properly anyway. The car park would probably be about five minutes away if she ran, and a car  _ was _ a safe place to be in a storm, right? The wheels were the only part to touch the ground, and those were made of delicious non-conductive rubber...

Another strike. Ten feet away.

She fell back into the mud, this time kicking her feet to push her back quickly, before even getting up again. That one was close enough to feel the  _ heat. _ She was growing more and more terrified.

Okay, the car park was out of the question - it was further away than the hotel and she didn’t have the key for Min Min’s car anyway. She hopped to her feet quickly and began to dash toward the tower ahead.

More and more lightning, all scattered around in the distance for the most part, lit the dark grey clouds above with a sickening electric blue. She could feel tears running down her face now, as all she wanted was to get to somewhere she wouldn’t be in the direct firing line of them.

She looked to the hotel in front of her. There was one main issue that struck her now, just as a lightning bolt struck a nearby tree stump - all the doors and windows of the hotel were boarded up. The boards looked  _ tough _ , too. They were thick planks of wood, and the lower-level ones were even stacked doubly for reinforcement. There was no way she could get through them, no matter how strong her ARMS were.

But up at the  _ very _ top of the tower there was a light on - the only light in a sea of otherwise dark windows. The light shined bright, like her beacon of hope in this dire situation, and it shined  _ unobstructed. _ The window wasn’t boarded up and, hell, it was even  _ open! _

She managed to get to the front of the tower, panting heavily now. Another bolt struck close and she jumped again, her face scrunching in a cry. If she wanted to get to safety she’d have to  _ climb. _

So that’s what she began to do.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Min Min had really hoped for the soft carpet of the hotel room she had seen to be the thing that met with her foot when it finally pressed down in her assigned room. Instead? Laminated wood.

She was back in the ballroom downstairs, only the room was  _ filled _ with...

With a unsteady gulp, she put her hands flat over her mouth. The entire room was packed with  _ clown dolls. _ All of different designs and sizes, with different colour schemes and makeup patterns. There were so many she was damn near certain there wasn’t a single space on the floor where she could stand without a clown doll within five feet of her.

The room-wide orange glow she had created through Helix a while earlier was once again present in this room, though it didn’t seem to be emitting from anywhere specific, giving it more of an ominous presence. The burning shades of gold and orange really didn’t help to make the clowns easier to look at. Not one bit.

Min Min put her hands behind her, eyes still fixed on the room, and felt around. She was...  _ She was right beside the door! _ She grabbed the handle and tried to pull it, but the doors remained shut, only rattling slightly. “ _ Come on... _ ” She muttered quietly, shaking the doors again. “ _ COME ON... _ ”

She hurriedly turned around and grabbed the handle properly, pulling at it with a good deal more strength. It still didn’t budge.

A childlike laughter came from behind her. She turned her head over her shoulder quickly, only to find that every clown doll in the room had silently rotated, and now all of them were looking directly at  _ her. _

She thumped her back against the wall, pressing flat against it as her chest heaved up and down. They...  _ Were _ just dolls, right??

“MISANGOOOO?” She called out nervously. “ARE YOU BACK THERE, DUDE??” She whined through gritted teeth, immensely uncomfortable. “I NEED YOU TO OPEN THE DOOR!”

She got no response, but she kept hoping for one anyway. It was preferable to turning around again - she wasn’t about to let these dolls out of her sight for a  _ second. _ Even if looking at them was heart-thumping on its own.

Suddenly the ambient golden light surrounding the room began to  _ flicker. _ It was never off for more than a split second at a time, but it definitely felt like it was gearing up to turn off completely. “OPEN THE DOOR, DUDE!” She banged her fists on the door behind her. “ _ OPEN THE DOOR! _ ”

The light vanished for about half a second, returning the room to pitch blackness, before coming back to reveal that every clown doll dotted around was now... Grinning. Many of them seemed to have particularly sharp or rotted teeth, too.

Min Min tensed up harder, slowly sliding her back down the door until she was sitting. She brought her knees to her chest and held them, still shaking.

The light began to flicker again, and Min Min shut her eyes, not ready for whatever was coming next.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ribbon Girl’s grip on the hotel’s exterior wasn’t  _ great. _ The rain made everything pretty slippery to begin with, but her shaking made firmly grasping anything  _ much  _ more of a chore. And when lightning struck? Well she was surprised she wasn’t on her way down to her death pretty much every time the thunder crash followed.

Her first real slip was at about the third floor, when a bolt had come close enough for her to one again feel the heat from it. Her left hand completely disconnected from the ridge she was gripping, and she was only saved by the firm grip of her right hand. At this height the fall likely wouldn’t  _ kill _ her, but she’d be in some serious pain and have broken quite a few bones.

The threat of falling was very real, but she couldn’t stay out here in the storm. She just couldn’t bare it at all - the light above was the only beacon of safety she had, so she was going to take it. Perhaps a calmer and more rational Ribbon Girl would have thought of something else, but right now calm-Ribbon Girl was out of commission, and wouldn’t be back until the clouds above had cleared.

She continued to ascend, extending her ARMS up full stories at a time, and waiting until her grip was firm on its hold before she’d let go with her other hand. It was a  _ long _ way up, and while she didn’t want to rush it, she didn’t exactly want to take her time either.

A bolt struck the side of the hotel. She yelped, tightening her grip on her hold while she hugged the building, tears running down her rain-soaked face. She became horribly aware that she was more than likely to die within the next few minutes, either by losing her grip or outright being struck by lightning before she reached her safe haven. They’d find her mangled body in the mud the next day - and she’d have died with  _ whiskers painted on her face. _ Some way to go, for sure.

The thought terrified her, but she had already begun her ascent now - going back  _ down _ would be even harder, and she didn’t have much faith in her ability to hum a safe float down with her jaw quivering the way it was.

She attempted to steady her breath a bit, pulling herself up another floor. She was about half way there now, and certain a fall would completely kill her at this point.

Another floor up. If she just kept ascending like this, taking each floor one-at-a-time, she could make it. She  _ knew _ she could, she just had to remain calm and-

Another bolt struck the hotel’s side, crumbling some decorative stone and sending it down to the dark below. Her hand came off its support again, but the other gripped tightly, if trembling.

She carefully looked toward where the bolt had struck - a big black scorch mark lay there, but thankfully no fire. Her eyes were wet, both from tears and the heavy rain, but she’d be able to see a fire if there was one, given how dark everything else was. Fire... That would be  _ another _ detail in an already awful situation, if one started. She was pretty glad she didn’t have to deal with that just yet.

Another floor up. It occurred to her that one of her main gloves had an electric attribute, and another had fire. Was that some awful irony, predicting how she’d die from the moment she chose those gloves? Her third main was wind, and there was a fair bit of that here too! The rain was practically diagonal.

About three quarters of the way up now. She was so close -  _ so _ close! She’d soon be safe and in Min Min’s ARMS, and Mechanica and Kid Cobra and Coyle and Brass - they’re all be there to support her! They’d probably wonder how the hell she got  _ outside, _ or where she’d-

A bolt of lightning struck Ribbon Girl. Not directly, no, but close enough to feel it. It landed with a harsh crash right beside her left ARM - she could feel the static course through her. Through her chest. Through her face. Through the ribbons in her right ARM and then the ribbons in her left.

The voltage wasn’t nearly enough to kill her, just like that - it was only a nearby shock, not a direct hit. But it was enough for to feel it. Enough for her ARMS to... For her ARMS to...

She was falling. Her ARMS were limp and lifeless, as if she had just been struck by a Revolver or a Seekie or a-

It didn’t matter. She was falling now, and she was powerless to stop it. Time seemed to slow as the view of that open window above grew steadily further and further away. She would never see Min Min again. Or Mechanica. Or any of the others at all. She’d never fight in an ARMS match again, or sing at a concert. This was the end of her story.

She shut her eyes and passed out, not expecting to wake up again.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Min Min shook in place, her body wrapped up small as she waited for whatever horrible thing was about to happen to her to happen. She waited with her eyes shut tightly for a good three minutes or so, before she began to feel... Impatient?

Why was nothing happening? She couldn’t hear anything moving - not that she had been able to the last few times - and she couldn’t  _ feel _ anything near her... The wait was getting painful. Why wouldn’t they just hurry up and  _ get _ her or whatever??

She considered now, nervously, that if she were to open her eyes they’d be leaning right over her. That there’d really be one right in front of her face, and it had been there for a  _ while _ without her even knowing, its sharp yellow teeth ready to bite down on her.  _ Yuck. _ That thought made her stomach churn.

She began to try focusing on her breathing, trying to steady her heart a bit and calm herself. The complete silence around her made her feel  _ immensely _ tense but, she supposed, it  _ did _ help her try and focus on other thoughts. She thought of the weekend prior, when she and Ribbon Girl had had a nice barbeque, just the two of them. She thought vividly of the hotdogs she grilled - how they smelt, how they tasted, how they looked... Every little detail she could remember. They were a little burnt on one side. The bun was a little dry. Sauce smeared on her nose as she took her first bite. It wasn’t great, but it was still pretty good. She really was the quintessential barbequing dad, just younger and curvier.

With a few more long breaths, she finally convinced herself to open her eyes. The clowns... The clowns were  _ gone! _

...But in their places? Large and striped boxes dotted the room. She wasn’t sure what they  _ were _ , but she didn’t want to find out either.

The golden light was gone now, replaced by only the party’s colour-changing lights above, though they were each frozen on a random colour. It was darker than it had been with the golden light, yes, but without the fog effect the lights above  _ did _ illuminate the room a fair bit.

She carefully got to her feet, still pretty shakey. She checked the door behind her again, though still not turning toward it. No budge, big surprised. She thought it best not to stand there and continue trying, given there was now a brighter option ahead.

A green ‘EXIT’ sign had lit up across the room. There was no door there, but directly below it was another box - the largest, it seemed. How was the box an  _ exit? _ Would it contain a key...? Why would the key need such a big box?

Well, it was her best bet, so carefully began to walk across the room. The sooner she could get out of here, the better. She  _ knew _ going through those stupid door-portals would be a bad idea! Why was everyone else so eager to pass through? They should have  _ expected _ this!

But wait... The others weren’t  _ here. _ So where were they...? Did they all have a situation like this to deal with? Just where the hell was Ribbon G-

Min Min stepped too close to one of the boxes, and suddenly a clown figure burst out of it with a ghastly laugher sound clip. She yelped, falling right back onto her ass, kicking her way back to where she’d come from. Her heart was pounding rapidly again.

They were all Jack-in-the-boxes...  _ How cruel is that?! _

She shuddered in place, trying to calm herself again. The clown figure that had emerged, and was tied to the box with an ARM-like spring, simply laid limp where it was after it had sprung out.

_ Okay. _ She inhaled. All she would have to do is get over to the exit sign. She could do that.  _ She could do that. _

She got up again and began, once more, to walk in the direction of the exit sign. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she passed by the limp clown figure, but she made it past without any more sudden surprises.

But now there was another dilemma - she couldn’t go any further without triggering another box. She was sure of it. It was simply too close.

She sighed, shutting her eyes and trying to be brave. She walked with big and deliberate steps, pausing between each one, until a big springing sound and another laughter clip shouted out from the box she had seen ahead.

Thankfully, she didn’t get too scared by that one. She had expected it, and having her eyes closed certainly seemed to help. But she’d have to open them to know where to go next.

Her stomach churned as she saw the clown’s face right beside her own, its teeth sharp and yellow. She bit her lip, trying not to vomit, and carefully edged her way past. She could see another two boxes on her way to the other side of the room that would likely jump out of her.  _ Great. _

By the time she reached the wall by the exit sign, Min Min was actually feeling pretty good about herself. She had managed to make it there without being too startled by any of the other boxes along the way - even when a  _ third _ had gone off unexpectedly.

She bent down and looked at the box below the exit sign. It hadn’t jumped out at her like all the others, though the paint job was similar so... Hm?

She found a metal handle on the right-hand side of the box.  _ Great. _ With a deep sigh, she began to crank the handle. The tune of  _ Pop Goes the Weasel _ began to sound out from the box.  _ GREAT. _

Against all inside her that was begging her not to continue, Min Min played the box’s handle until the song had met its end. And when it did?

The box suddenly burst open, and another figure jumped out, falling limp over the side of the box. Min Min jumped back - she hadn’t prepared for it, not properly. The music had unnerved her too much.

The figure began to pant hard, as if it had been holding its breath in there. She squinted at it, after a moment. “...L-Lola?”

Lola turned her head up. “M... Min Min? Phew, hey! Boyyy am I glad to see you...”

“I’m hardly glad to see  _ you. _ ” She muttered back through her teeth, still deeply unsettled by the killer clown costume Lola had dressed herself in.

“Wh-Where  _ are _ we...?” Lola mumbled, carefully stepping out of the box she had been in.

“Some b-bizarre haunted v-version of the party room...” Min Min muttered, holding her upper ARM with one hand as she overlooked the unopened boxes of the room.

“ _ Yikes. _ ” Lola bit her lip. “Well let’s get the hell out of here, then.”

A split of light hit the corner of Min Min’s eye.  _ Bright  _ light. She turned back to Lola, who was holding open a door by the box she had emerged from. “H-Huh?” Min Min gasped. “Th-That wasn’t  _ there _ a second ago!”

“You comin’ or not?” Lola mumbled, drumming her fingertips on the door she was holding.

The two walked out and back into the light.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ribbon Girl opened her eyes slowly. “Nyhhh..” She groaned, putting a hand to her head. “Where... Am... I...?”

“Y’alright?” The recognisable mask of Batman looked down at her.

She leaned up a bit to survey her surroundings. She was still outside the hotel, but the storm had stopped. The rain was gone altogether, even leaving the ground beneath her relatively dry. “I... I...” She looked at the tower, which was no longer boarded up on every window. “...I was falling...”

“Yeah, you were.” Ninjara sighed. Thankfully he wasn’t trying to do the Batman voice anymore. “I was lucky to catch you.”

“You...  _ Caught _ me?” She looked back at him, her eyes wide.

“Well I appeared up there, grabbed you, and appeared back down here with you. Less momentum, so you didn’t go...” He would have followed up with the word ‘splat’, but that thought seemed too realistic to actually say it.

“Wh-Where were you...?” Ribbon Girl sat up, still feeling a little weak in her stomach. “I thought I was alone...”

“I dunno where I was. It was all kinda dark, and I couldn’t move.” He stood, his cape falling over him in quite a cool way. “Then suddenly I was right here, and I looked up and saw you falling down.”

“...Th-Thank you...” Ribbon Girl mumbled, carefully getting to her feet, with Ninjara’s assistance. “I-It was raining, a-and there was lightning a-and...” She gulped. “I was trying to get t-to the window at the top, it was the only one o-open...”

Ninjara looked up at the window, though he couldn’t make out which one - none were open. None even had lights on.

“W-Where are the others...? I was with Min and Mechanica, a-and Coyle and Brass and Cobra.”

“I dunno.” He shrugged. “Still inside, I guess?” He walked toward the doors of the lobby - it seemed empty through the windows, but they figured it’d be better to head on in anyway and try to regroup.


	4. Fears II

Mechanica stepped into class, her backpack suddenly weighing down on her shoulders. She paused, blinking. The hotel room was now her  _ school? _ That was odd enough, but she definitely wasn’t wearing her uniform when she was at the hotel... What happened to the Carrie Fernandez outfit?

“Outta the way, dork.” Her stuck-up classmate, Greta, thumped past her as she came in from behind. Several of Greta’s similarly snooty friends repeated the same thump.

“Miss Vergara-Ortiz, would you  _ please _ seat yourself? Or do you intend to stand there all day?” Her maths teacher, Mrs. Chane, droned. Usually she was somewhat nicer than this...

Mechanica quickly walked over to her chair and sat down, setting her backpack below the table. Was this a  _ dream...? _ Or had she time travelled or something?

“Today, students, is presentation day.” Mrs. Chase spoke, standing from her desk to address the class. “I hope you all prepared adequately.”

Wait, presentations? In _ maths class... _ ? What on earth where they supposed to  _ present? _

“Felicity.” Her eyes met Mechanica’s, her neck straightening a bit. “How about we start with you?”

The class turned to face her. “U-Uh... I’m sorry, I-I...” She bit her lip, a little uneasy being singled out like this. “I-I don’t know if I...  _ Have... _ My presentation...” She wasn’t used to not having the homework finished, so replying in this way gave her a bit of a sickly feeling.

“Oh?” Mrs. Chase raised an eyebrow. “But you emailed me the presentation last night?”

“O-Oh?” Mechanica’s eyes lit up. “I-I did? Oh, alright then...!” She got to her feet and quietly walked in front of the class. She may have had a presentation prepared, but she still didn’t know what it was about or what the spoken segments would have to include. But hey, she knew all the material taught up until this point, so surely she could wing it based on what the slides said, right?

Mrs. Chase returned to her desk and opened the presentation on her computer screen. She flipped the projector on remotely and turned back to Mechanica. “Just say ‘next slide’ when you’d like me to go on. You can begin when you’re ready.”

She gave a nod to her teacher, then turned back to the class. She never much liked presenting to them - the spotlight being on her like this was a bit stressful, especially since a lot of the students seemed to have something against her. She could see Greta to the left of the classroom, a small smirk on her face like she was ready to start laughing at her. To the back were the cheerleaders, who thankfully didn’t seem to pay much attention regardless, and in front of that were some of the boys and... Well, someone she had something of a crush on.

She shook her head, trying to remain calm. The thought briefly came back to her that she had just been in a creepy hotel with all her ARMS fighting buddies, but for some reason that didn’t feel real anymore. Had she daydreamed that...?

She could see some of the students looking at her weirdly now. “O-Oh!” She said finally. “R-Right, sorry, yes... H-Haha...” She cleared her throat. “I-I’m Felicity,  _ obviously, _ a-and this is my presentation... On...” She turned her head over her shoulder to read the introduction slide and her heart sunk deep in her chest.

_ My Drawings! by Felicity Vergara-Ortiz _

The slide was blank aside from the title. She read it over multiple times.  _ Drawings?? _ But this was  _ maths _ class! She didn’t even  _ take _ art, she knew she was no good at it.

“Next slide...?” Mrs. Chase raised an eyebrow to her.

Drawings of  _ what...? _ She wondered. Maths things? “U-Uh, y-yes, okay, next slide...” Perhaps this next one would give her some clarity.

The class began to laugh in small spatters as a poorly drawn doodle of a cat appeared on the wall behind her. She recognised it as one she had drawn a few months ago, when she had rented a library book on drawing realistic sketches in the hopes of actually improving a bit. The cat’s nose was overly long, its ears were sized poorly, and the body looked totally unshapely - it was a  _ very _ bad drawing, so much so that she had given up on improving her drawing skills again that night after that one single picture.

She turned back to the class, who were all smiling at her, with some of them still chuckling. “I-I...” Her jaw wiggled up and down a bit as she wasn’t sure what to even say.

“Present it, Felicity.” Mrs. Chase sighed, drumming her fingertips on her desk.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kid Cobra wobbled slightly as he had to stop himself abruptly from walking any further - ahead of him was a  _ large _ drop. One that’d send him rolling for a  _ while. _

He looked around, his eyes squinting slightly from the number of lights pointed his way. He was... He was at a snakepark! In fact, he was atop one of the drops for the snakepark arena below. He could see for  _ miles _ up here, and all that space was filled with...

He quickly struck a stylish pose, standing on his ARM with his legs splayed in the air. Cheers erupted from the  _ immense _ crowd of fans all around him. What a turnout! He could  _ never _ imagine a crowd this big!

Over on the building behind them was a large screen playing a looped clip of some sweet snakeboarding action. It seemed to be filler, just playing until things got properly started...

Above the screen bore a large banner, and Kid Cobra’s eyes suddenly widened. “OHHH DIP!!” He screeched - he was at the  _ Snakeboarding World Championship!! _

His eyes drew to the platform he stood on. He wasn’t just  _ at _ the Snakeboarding World Championship, he was about to  _ compete _ in it!

“LADIES AND GENETLEDUDESSSSS!” Came a sick voice from the speakers by the screen. The crowd erupted again. “I AM PUH-LEASED TO WELCOME YOU BACK, YES  _ BACK! _ , TO THE SNAKEBOARDING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP F-F-F- _ FINALEEEEEEE!!!! _ ”

His grin grew larger. He wasn’t just competing in the championship, he had made is to the finale?!

“ONE-ONE-ONCE AGAIN LET ME IH-IH-IH-INTRODUCE Y’ALL TO THE SNAKE WITH NO BREAKS, THE LIVIN’ LEGEND HIMSELF, K-K-K-KIDDDD COBRAAAAA!!!!”

He struck another pose as the fans screamed for him. He was here, about to compete in the championship finale, and the crowd  _ loved _ him. Was this heaven?!

“AND NOW FOR HIS F-F-F-FEARLESS COMPETITORRRRR!”

Kid Cobra’s smile faded as he looked up at the screen above him. His arch rival, the bane of his very existence, was now the one thing keeping him from victory...  _ The Mongoose. _

The Mongoose wasn’t actually a mongoose, mind you. He was a snake just as he was, true and true. But there was something so  _ awful _ about him. He brimmed with an unbridled confidence and glory, as if he had already been crowned world champion years ago. The fans adored him - more fans than Kid Cobra had ever had. No matter how high his stream counts got, The Mongoose already had him beat. He was  _ invincible. _

The Mongoose struck a pose much cooler than that Kid Cobra had performed, and the crowd cheered noticeably louder.

_ Fine. _ Kid Cobra glared. He wasn’t about to let The Mongoose take this from him - he was here for  _ victory! _ He had come this far, and he could make it to the top, Mongoose or not. He knew he could do it, provided he had his trusty-

His heart sunk. The snakeboard beside him was a  _ Rattle Boa X9-50 _ , a 2016 board by Hotshot Hiss. It was touted as having the best spin-friction-debuff on the planet, but it was  _ total garbage, yo. _ He dropped twenty-three-hundo on that trash and could barely stay aboard it. Total rip, man.

This wasn’t  _ his _ board.  _ His _ board was a  _ Venom Skin 60J Ultrawave 4 _ , issues in 2014 by Shed Station Slith. That board had done wonders for him - it had brought him from nine views up to nine-hundo sixty! Sometimes he wondered if  _ he _ was riding the board, or if the board was another  _ part _ of him. He named it Scorpz, man. He  _ loved _ that board.

“THE M-M-M-MATCH WILL BEGIN SOOOOOOON!” The announcer bellowed again.

This was no good. This was no good  _ at all! _ He couldn’t win with his board. He needed  _ his _ board, he needed-

A sharp pain shot through his heart as he saw his opponent from across the arena. The Mongoose... Had his board. And not just any  _ Venom Skin 60J Ultrawave 4... _ He had  _ Scorpz. _

Kid Cobra gulped and the countdown began.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mechanica did her best not to cry as her eyes began to water. The class was laughing at her again. She had attempted to tell them that she had tried to improve her skills and the cat was an admittedly bad start,  _ b-but everyone has to take steps to i-improve, right?! _

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her eyes looking to the blank wall. “N-Next slide...”

The projector’s light cut off for a split second and then returned. More laughter from the class.

She turned slowly over her shoulder again. This one was a drawing of  _ herself, _ but older and more...  _ Cool. _ It was meant to be less ‘realistic’ than the cat, but it was still pretty bad - wobbly lines, mis-sized facial features, a complete misunderstanding of how to draw high heels... And some of its issues weren’t even related to skill - it was embarrassing on its own that she had given herself such a big chest.

The laughter spread in waves around the class, and even the cheerleaders seemed to be laughing at her. Her crush in particular seemed to be  _ cringing. _

“N-Next s-slide...” Mechanica stammered, her face drenched with peril.

“You have to  _ present _ it, Felicity.” Mrs. Chase replied sternly. “You know I don’t like when students leave everything up to the slide.” She didn’t actually know this, admittedly, as they had never had presentations in maths class before.

Mechanica’s lips wobbled. “I-It’s a... A ch-character I drew to-”

“ _ No, Felicity. _ ” Mrs. Chase interrupted, sternly again. “I want you to tell the  _ truth. _ ”

What kind of a situation  _ was _ this? An act of torture?? “I-It’s...” She gulped. “I-It’s what I thought I-I could m-maybe looks like... I-In a few... Y-Years, ma-maybe...”

Greta snorted loudly, her hand struck out in front of her, pointing to the drawing. “ _ Look! _ ” She wailed. “ _ She even has ARMS! _ ” The classroom erupted in laughter again. Even Mrs. Chase seemed to get a few giggles in.

“ _ N-Next sl-slide... _ ” Mechanica stammered quickly, a tear rolling down her face.

“Ooooooo!~” A few students wailed at the sight of the next drawing.

She didn’t want to turn around. She  _ really  _ didn’t want to turn around. She gave a quick look to Mrs. Chase, hoping desperately that her clear look of embarrassment and sorrow might convince her to stop here, but Mrs. Chase just continued to drum her fingers impatiently.

Mechanica turned around, only to be met with a familiar drawing of  _ Ribbon Girl. _ It was a drawing that Mechanica honestly spent a good long while on - she had coloured it, even! - but she knew it wasn’t anywhere good enough to ever  _ show _ to Ribbon Girl. It was embarrassingly bad, just as all the others had been.

“Th-This...” She tried, tears really beginning to pour down her face now. “Th-This is m-my...”

“It’s your girlfriendddddd!” Came from beside Greta, causing that whole friend group - and many other classmates - to begin laughing again.

Mechanica had never spoken about her ARMS fighting career to her classmates, preferring to keep her life as Felicity separate from it. As far as anyone here was concerned, Mechanica and Felicity were entirely different people - and somehow no one had yet noticed the similarity between the two.

She had, however, briefly mentioned here-and-there that she had met the various ARMS fighters before, including Ribbon Girl, who was obviously her favorite - that much could be assumed easily enough from her Ribbon GIrl pencil case, among other things. No one  _ believed _ her, but her insistence that she  _ had _ met them all seemed to spur into a joke for many of them. She had never insinuated that she and Ribbon Girl were dating, of course. She would never have said something like that. But it seemed to be a thing she often was accused of having said.

“ _ Felicity. _ ” Mrs. Chase pushed, impatiently.

She looked to the floor, shaking, as little tear droplets splattered down below her. “Th-This is Ri-Ribbon Girl... M-My favourite ARMS f-fighter...” She bit her lip, pushing back the urge to start sobbing wildly. “ _ N-Next slide... _ ” She wanted that drawing off the screen immediately.

“You haven’t told us why you drew it, yet.” Mrs. Chase insisted.

“I-I drew it b-because I th-thought she m-might l-like it...” She sniffled. “ _ Next slide, p-please... _ ”

“Well let’s not be so quick to rush.” Mrs. Chase shrugged. “Does anyone in the class have a comment on Felicity’s work?”

“It’s  _ awful! _ ” One of the boys shouted, resulting in a burst of laughter around the room. Mechanica continued to stare at the floor, wanting to be anywhere but where she was right now.

“Why’s her nose so big??” One of the girls called out. “You shouldn’t have made her so ugly!”

“ _ Y’know what? _ ” Came a more mature, yet strikingly beautiful, voice from the corner of the room. The students all fell silent suddenly, as if caught off guard. “ _ I think it’s sweet. _ ”

Mechanica looked up slowly. Everyone had turned to look at the student who had raised her voice, and finally Mechanica saw her - it was  _ Twintelle, _ sitting over in the corner with the other cheerleaders. Though, despite having worn a cheerleading outfit to the party, she was dressed in the same Lakeside North High uniform as everyone else, if a little more adult-proportioned.

“I don’t think it’s  _ great, _ sure, but it’s a fan drawing.” She shrugged, her legs crossed over her school desk. “I think it’s sweet when a fan takes the time to draw someone they admire. And I think the subjective quality of that drawing doesn’t matter nearly as much as the adoration behind it.”

The room remained silent as they continued to stare at her, unsure of how to react. Mechanica herself was frozen in shock, tears halfway down her face, but no longer pouring from her eyes.

Twintelle slowly and gracefully got to her feet. “I know what it’s like to receive fan art, including fan art that others may poke fun at. And I’d be plenty touched to receive something like what Mechanica has drawn.” She quietly made her way to the tear-struck girl at the front of the class. “I think we’re done here. Agreed?”

Mechanica brought her jaw up from where it had been hanging, sniffled quietly, and nodded.

Twintelle opened the classroom door, waited for Mechanica to pass through it, and then followed behind her.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kid Cobra sat on the edge of the area and sighed deeply. The whole stadium, which had been  _ packed _ not too long ago, was now entirely empty. The Mongoose had easily thrashed him, and all his adoring fans had turned on him in that moment like it was  _ nothing. _

He withdrew his phone and checked his subscriber count...  _ Four. _ Only four people still stood by him now. And they were probably just twitch bots, too.

He let out another long sigh, tears slowly dropping from his mask. He really blew it, huh? A taste of greatness and then... Shot right down. No fans... No Scorpz... No pride.

Spring Man quietly walked up beside him and sat down too. “...You okay, buddy?” He looked up at the screen above them, which was now off. “I was in the crowd. Looked  _ rough _ ...”

“Yeah, dawg...” Kid Cobra nodded. “Was real rough.” He wiped his eyes with some of the toilet paper he was still wrapped in.

Spring Man bit his lip, quietly thankful he didn’t have his fake vampire teeth in still, and looked around the abandoned stadium. “W-Well...” He wasn’t really sure what to say. “A-At least you’ve still got ARMS fighting, yeah?”

“Heh.” Kid Cobra laughed slightly. “Yeah, guess so...”

“And, y’know, it’s not  _ all _ lost.” He motioned an ARM around the snakepark. “All this, I mean. You rose from the bottom once, you can do it again. Yeah?”

Kid Cobra nodded. “That’s smart stuff, dude. You’re a real bro.”

Spring Man smiled, patting him on the back. “Also, I mean... I’m pretty sure this is all just a nightmare or something?” He shrugged. “I mean, I was just at the Halloween party, and a big evil spirit thing appeared so...”

“Oh, yeah dawg, that happened to me too. We came lookin’ for ya.” Kid Cobra mumbled. “S’probably all a dream, yeah. But man, I  _ almost _ had it...” He sighed again.

“You’ll get ‘em for real.” Spring Man nodded.

“Yeah.” He looked wistfully into the distance for a moment, before slowly getting to his feet. “So y’know the way out of this place or?”

“I’m feelin’ kinda drawn to that gate, there.” Spring Man pointed, after getting up himself.

Kid Cobra offered him a column fist-bump, which he returned similarly, and the two headed off through the gate.


	5. Fears III

“...Portals.” Coyle finished. Her eyes widened, as she was suddenly  _ not _ in the hotel room she had stepped into. “...Ah!” She smiled. “ _ Knew it. _ ”

She turned around. No open door behind her, so getting  _ back _ might be a problem, but then again-

Suddenly she realized where she was. The floor was a cold metal - as were the walls and most of the things in this room in general. She was back at Lab C-6 of the ARMS Lab! Well, the  _ old _ ARMS Lab, before she moved things to a more secure underground facility.

How  _ nostalgic. _ She used to spend a decent bit of time in here, building OHL units, drinking coffees, enjoying Brass’s visits... This particular lab was always here favourite. Which made sense, of course, because this was the lab where she-

The door opened, and a young woman walked in, before jumping back slightly and putting her hand to her chest. “O-Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you there, I thought this room would be empty...”

Coyle stared wide-eyed at the woman. She found herself unable to speak, which was just as well, as she wouldn’t know what to say anyway.

The woman cocked her head to one side, her hair dangling gently over her right eye. “Can I help you...?”

Coyle swallowed, backing up a bit. She was so...  _ Young. _ But, no, not  _ that _ young surely - she was probably mid-thirties, or so? Not... Not far off from...

“From getting my ARMS, yes.” The woman shrugged, a little embarrassed.

“Wh-What...?” Coyle squinted.

“Not far off from getting my ARMS.” The woman returned, uncharacteristically confident. “Then comes half a week of hell, and then... Well...” She shrugged again, a smile on her face - one not of happiness, but of frustration. “Then comes  _ you! _ ”

“How do you know that?” Coyle muttered quickly. “You can’t know the  _ future _ . Not your  _ own _ future, n-not details about-”

“I have all your memories.” She answered, quietly. “Or...  _ My _ memories.  _ Our _ memories. It was always hard to find the right words...”

“If you have all my memories th-then...” Coyle continued. “Th-then you would  _ be _ me, you’d just be a duplicate of me, an exact copy of-”

“ _ No, _ ” She replied sternly. “That’s not at  _ all _ how that works, we were always  _ vastly _ different in more than just our experiences.” She seemed to look at Coyle with something close to... What,  _ disgust? _ “I am  _ me _ but I know everything that goes on to happen. Every conversation. Every experiment. Every little thought along the way.”

Coyle stared at her, again finding herself with nothing to say.

The woman in front of her watched, as if waiting for a response. Her face turned sour, and she looked away. “Ah.  _ Great. _ You’re at a loss for words because you  _ know _ what an awful person you are. I really thought you might have just been oblivious. I guess that was wishful thinking.”

“A-Awful...?” Coyle repeated, somewhat surprised and... Confused.

She looked back at her again. “You  _ do _ know, don’t you? You sure  _ seem _ like you know. Are you just lying to yourself to make it easier?”

“H-Hold on!” Coyle shook her head. “You can’t speak like this, y-you  _ never _ spoke like this!”

“Ohhh!” She giggled, somewhat cutely. “Yeah, I know!  _ That’s what made it so easy, right? _ ” She smiled a smile that could only be read as ‘I  _ despise _ you’. “Well let’s say I grew a backbone, then! I learnt to finally  _ speak _ my thoughts. The  _ bad _ thoughts. The ones at the back of my head that were  _ always _ there, long before  _ you _ came around and pretended to speak from them.”

For a third time now, she was at a loss for-

“TALK, DAMN IT!” She suddenly gruffed, her chest heaving slightly. “You wiped my life from my own damn head, and now you can’t even own up to it?!” Her breathing gradually calmed over a pause. “Well  _ fine. _ You don’t  _ have _ to talk, then.” She glared at her. “But then you’re sure as hell gonna  _ listen. _ ”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Whuh?” Max Brass muttered, stepping out into the kitchen. “M-Man, it smells  _ great _ in here!”

“Brass?!” Came a voice from the end of the room, before the sound of pounding on glass.

Max Brass turned to the voice. “Mummy? So  _ that’s _ where you’ve been!” He approached the glass wall that separated them. “Whatchu doin’ behind there?”

Master Mummy, pharaoh garb and all, was trapped in some sort of glass box. Brass tried the metal handle of the glass door, but it seemed firmly locked. “I’ve tried the door, it doesn’t work.”

“Hm.” Max Brass folded his ARMS, putting a finger to his chin. “Y’tried SMASHIN’ it?”

“Of course.” Master Mummy nodded. “No such luck. Not even a crack.”

“S’odd. Shame the missus - well,  _ ex _ missus - ain’t here to help out. She’d know what to do.”

“Well, there’s  _ this _ thing...” Master Mummy stepped to one side, revealing a strange panel on the glass. It had ten unlit LEDs on it, each marked with a number, and a final LED at the bottom beside the symbol of a key.

“Ah-ha!” Max Brass grinned. “Light the doo-hickeys and the door opens. That makes sense, right?”

“I’d imagine so!” Master Mummy nodded. “Looks like you gotta use  _ that. _ ” He pointed to the kitchen counter behind Max Brass. “I’m not sure what the point of all this is, but it seems a little... Simple, right?”

Max Brass turned to the counter and his face instantly grew to one of terror. Atop the surface was a plate full of green pepper sliced - ten of them, to be exact - each with a little numbered flag stuck in them. A folded piece of paper by the plate bore a mark that looked somewhat like PAC-MAN.

“You just gotta eat ‘em, right? I don’t see what else you’d need to do...”

He turned back to Mummy, his mouth curved in a sulk. “I-I DON’T THINK I CAN DO THIS, PAL!”

“What...?” Master Mummy leant forward toward the glass. “I’m pretty sure they’re just green peppers!”

“I-I KNOW!” Max Brass cried, his hands put to the sides of his head in distress.

After about twenty minutes of coaxing, Max Brass pinched a green pepper between his thumb and index finger, and picked it up. He then immediately put it down again and required a further eight minutes of coaxing to pick it back up.

He leant in for a tiny bit, trying to just  _ barely _ graze it with his teeth, desperately thinking of anything but what he was about to do.

“N-No, Max!” Master Mummy sighed, exhausted. “Just eat the whole thing at once! Don’t take small  _ bites! _ ”

Another thirty minutes passed. “G-Gu-ahh!” Max Brass cringed, shuddering slightly. He had managed to finish  _ one whole pepper slice, _ doing his best to just let it fall down his throat without chewing or tasting it, though it still brushed against his tongue somewhat - yuck!

One of the lights on the panel board beside Master Mummy lit up. “O-Okay, great!” He sighed. “...Nine more to go. Can you just gulp them down quickly?  _ Please? _ ”

A further two hours passed and four lights were lit on the board. Max Brass was now curled into a ball on the floor, sobbing wildly and dramatically.

“Just...  _ Please... _ Take... Another...” Master Mummy tiredly begged.

“TH-TH-THEY’RE S-SO-SOOOO BAAAAAAD!” He wailed, his massive chest heaving.

Master Mummy had miraculously managed to coax Brass into choking down another four of them in the next hour alone. What a  _ roll! _ ...Except that it took another  _ three _ hours to get him to do one of the last two.

“Y’know...” Max nodded, his back against the counter. “I’m sure we could work stuff out if we could just  _ talk _ t’each other, but she gets angry so quick! And then I can’t help but get angry m’self...”

“You gotta get through it, man.” Master Mummy shook his head, also now sat on the floor, with his back against the glass wall. “Communication is  _ key. _ I spent a whole two months wishin’ the missus would stop clippin’ her toenails in the bed. I asked her one night, and y’know? She never did it again.”

“Heh.” Brass shrugged. “It ain’t so easy with Coyle. She doesn’t like makin’ much change ‘less it’s for her own reasons.”

Master Mummy nodded. “She’s gotta be making sacrifices too. It’s a team effort.”

Another two hours passed and Max Brass finally gulped down the last green pepper, swearing - quite vocally - to never go near another one ever again in his life.

The light by the key symbol shined on and the door unlocked. Master Mummy came out and the two gave each other a great big fatherly hug - the kind between two kindred fathers who bond over a good bowling match, or something.

Together, they opened the kitchen’s door and finally left it all behind.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And so,  _ finally, _ just so we’re  _ very _ clear:” The woman heaved, sweating greatly. Her voice was dry from the long filibuster she had been on. “What you did was akin to  _ murder. _ You robbed me of any hope or dream I ever had, and however you may choose to justify it yourself you  _ know _ , deep down, it was  _ wrong.  _ And you will  _ never _ deserve forgiveness for that.”

Coyle stood right where she had been when she had first arrived, one ARM now gripping the other by her upper ARM uncomfortably. Her face was streaked with silent tears that had run down over the course of her other’s monologue, but her eyes were firmly angled to the floor.

“...Right.” She panted. “Well, I think that just about does it. Any comments?”

Part of Coyle - the part that proved her prior self  _ so _ right - wanted to simply reply with ‘I like you better when you talked less’, but Coyle didn’t say it. And the woman, seemingly able to read her mind, didn’t seem to react to that thought at all. It was clear Coyle understood her point, and that’s all that mattered. It didn’t mean she was going to  _ change _ .

The woman took Coyle’s silence and nodded. “Well. I’m off, then. I still have a life for a few more months, so I better go make the best use of it - even if it’s one being stepped all over by my subordinates.” She walked over to the door, turned back for one last look at Coyle, and then walked out.

Coyle slowly and quietly walked to the large operating table in the center of the room and sat herself onto it. She looked down at the floor still, tears quietly dripping from her face, and she hunched over herself for comfort.

After a minute or so, the sound of wet footsteps steadily grew closer, until a golden blobby face peeked in from the open door.

Coyle turned to her new visitor and gave a soft smile. “...Th-There you are.” She laughed slightly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “Come to mommy~”

Helix slowly wobbled over and leaned up against Coyle, and Coyle put her ARMS around him - an admittedly uncommon move for her, given how she usually hated how sticky he was.

“She would never have made  _ you _ , y’know...” She smiled. “...So I reckon it was worth it.” She wondered how much she really meant that, in honesty - he  _ was _ pretty gross to hug - but she shrugged off the thought. It may have been just another way to justify it all, but that’s all she needed.

After a moment, she gently pushed Helix aside, got to her feet, and wiped off some of the gunk left on her Ribbon Girl outfit.

“C’mon, Helix.” She smiled softly to her Minion-dressed approximation of a son. “Let’s go home.”

She took his hand and lead him out of Lab C-6.


	6. Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts

The six fighters that had made up the rag-tag search team all emerged from their hotel doors at the exact same time, each of them accompanied by a member of the missing six. They looked between each other, somewhat startled by the eerie synchronised timing of their returns.

“Min...!” Ribbon Girl smiled brightly, hurriedly running into her ARMS.

She hugged her back quite tightly. “Was worried ‘bout you!” She smiled.

“I-I was climbing the hotel a-a-and there was a  _ storm _ a-and...” Ribbon Girl stammered out quickly.

“Yikes, a  _ storm? _ ” Min Min looked at her. “Were you alright??” She had plenty of experience with Ribbon Girl’s fear of lightning, given the various stormy nights they had shared before.

“K-Kinda...?” Ribbon Girl grit her teeth. “N-Not really, though. I-It was very close -  _ very _ close - a-and I couldn’t grip the hotel well, a-and I fell...” She pointed a thumb back at Bat-Ninjara, who was now chatting with Spring Man. “Ninjara caught me, though! Thank god.”

“I guess these rooms were based on our fears...” Min Min muttered, looking back at the doors with their names written on them.

“...Did you see any clowns??” Ribbon Girl’s eyes widened.

“Oh, yeah,  _ lots. _ ” Min Min bit her lip. “I’m not doing all  _ that _ again.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Twintelle turned to Mechanica and quietly wiped a tear from the young girl’s face. “Are you coping alright, with all of that?”

“Mm...” She sniffled again, nervously readjusting the bow on her Carrie Fernandez outfit again. “Th-Thank you, f-for standing up for me a-and stuff...”

Twintelle shrugged. “I hope they don’t  _ actually _ bully you like that. They were  _ far _ too inconsiderate.”

“I-It’s usually fine, I-I think. I mean, they’re nicer for real. Well, most of them, at least.” She smiled softly.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kid Cobra approached Min Min after she and Ribbon Girl had finished their hug. “Yo, dawg, I’ve just had the  _ craziest _ dream.”

“You and me both, dude.” Min Min shrugged, folding her ARMS. “And Ribs. Looks like we’ve all been stuck in our own personal little hells.

“Not me.” Spring Man shrugged, approaching too. “I mean, I wasn’t really happy to watch Kid Cobra suffer, but it wasn’t  _ my _ nightmare.”

“That’s  _ so _ unfair.” Min Min shook her head. “We get nightmares for comin’ to rescue ya? Should have left when we had the chance.”

“Well we  _ do _ have the chance  _ now... _ ” Ribbon Girl butt-in. “We’ve saved everyone, why don’t we all go home?”

Spring Man shrugged. “Usually that’s Coyle’s call to make. She might have a bone to pick with the ghost thing.”

“Yeahhhh...” Min Min sighed. “Why do I get the feeling she  _ does? _ ”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Master Mummy pat Max Brass on the back heartily, who then steadily approached Coyle. “H-Heya, hun.”

“Zip it, I’m busy.” Coyle wiped off another glob of Helix goo from her shoulder, not even looking at him. She walked over to the more central area of the crowd. “Right! We’re all together again but we’re not done yet.  _ Someone _ or  _ something _ set this all up, and I’m not a fan of its little mindgames. Our first order of business is to find the-”

The lights in the hallway all suddenly cut off again, making some of them gasp.

“Oh  _ please _ don’t snatch more people!!” Ribbon Girl whined through her teeth.

A bright blue flash appeared above them as the spirit returned once again. They all watched in awe as it flew around in a figure-eight, wailing and-

Suddenly the spirit disappeared entirely as a cracking sound was heard by the back wall. The lights came back on and everyone - thankfully with no one freshly missing - turned to see Coyle bent down at a small robotic spider-like  _ thing _ lying by a dent in the wall.

“I should have known...” Coyle sighed, picking it up in her hand. It was broken now - she had kicked it against the wall, apparently. “ _ This _ is a little projector device combined with some mechanical legs. I’m sure you all remember our recently deceased friend?” She withdrew Springtron’s black box from her pocket. “I  _ thought _ it was strange of him to self destruct for a weak gag. Looks like he built this thing, hid it inside himself, and then launched it into the room when he went bang.” She pointed to the large circular lense at the front of it. “This is what was projecting the ghosts we saw. There was never a real spirit.”

The rest of them stared at her blankly. “B-But...” Ribbon Girl began. “What about the rooms that teleported us to other places??”

“Those weren’t teleports.” She shrugged. “They simply knocked you out and gave you a nightmare. Probably some sort of gas in the doorframes.”

“No, we  _ saw _ people disappear when we walked through the doors!” Min Min pointed out. 

“And six of us got teleported outta the party, too!” Ninjara added.

“Okay, okay, calm down.” Coyle glared. “I don’t have all the answers  _ yet, _ but there’s a logical reason for everything. There’s no such thing as  _ ghosts. _ It was probably just a collective hallucination or a joint computer simulation or a-”

Everyone jumped back suddenly as another spirit - this one  _ far _ more life-like - appeared behind Coyle.

She raised an eyebrow, and turned over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up and she jumped back far. “A-A-A  _ REAL GHOST! _ ” She yelped.

They all quickly ran off, their legs becoming figure-eights as they ran. Max Brass, at the front of the line, kicked down a door that said ‘stairwell’. They all ran through and up the stairs, leading straight onto the roof.

“G-God, that thing was  _ not _ a p-projection!” Min Min panted, scared out of her skin.

“I-I-It was pr-probably j-just...” Coyle rattled, trying to think of something, as she looked around for it coming after them.

Suddenly the spirit reappeared overhead - it looked like an old man, but far more ghoulish, with long white hair and dark pits for eyes. It floated above, shining green, as it spoke to them all. “Y O U   C A N N O T L E A V E .” It wailed.

“Y-Yeah?” Kid Cobra glared. “Well, here comes the  _ real _ future Snakeboarding World Championship champ!!” He swung at it, but his ARM simply phased right through it.

“Wh-What do we do??” Ribbon GIrl asked, directed mostly at Coyle but happy to take an answer from any of them.

“I-I don’t  _ know! _ ” Coyle stammered, looking up at it.

“H-How do we go about fighting an evil spirit...??” Mechanica squealed. “W-We’d need some sort of  _ good _ spirit on our side... We’d need-”

“THE MISANGAN SPIRIT IS WITH YOU!” Bellowed Misango, emerging from the stairwell doorway with excellent timing, his purple-and-pink Brite Bomber costume reflecting in the moonlight. “AND THE MISANGAN SPIRIT COMMANDS...” He struck a finger to the ghost above. “...THAT YOU TAKE  _ PHYSICAL FORM! _ ”

The ghost screeched, and suddenly began to flash. The green glow surrounding it dimmed until it was no more, and the being looked more  _ solid _ .

“That’s more like it!” Max Brass grinned. “Hey,  _ oldie! _ ” He called out to it, pulling back a fist. “I AIN’T AFRAID OF NO  _ GHOSTS! _ ”

The spirit scrunched its face in anger, and suddenly an electrical field shot out around the fighters, dropping Max’s punch before it could reach its target.

It laughed as it hung over them all, with their ARMS laying limp on the floor. Mechanica turned quickly to Twintelle - the only other fighter present who had a pair of regular arms too - but Twintelle just shrugged at her.

Mechanica gulped. “Alright, then... I guess it’s up to  _ me. _ ” She unclipped a ribbon from the side of her dress and whipped it over at the ghost. It struck it hard, sending the spirit falling to the floor.

The electrical field dispersed and everyone regained their ARMS again. Punches shot forward, colliding with the spirit in several mighty hits. More of them pulled back to send their ARMS out, but were cut off suddenly by the spirit begging for  _ mercy. _

“Wh-Whait, please!” It called out in an oddly normal voice. “Ph-Phlease don’t hit me noh more!”

They lowered their ARMS puzzled, before Master Mummy slowly walked forward. “Hold on... I recognise that voice!” He grabbed the spirit by the head and pulled - removing a  _ Halloween mask. _

Kid Cobra gasped sharply, and everyone turned to him. “...Wait! Wait, no...” He muttered. “No, I have no idea who the hell that is. Whoops.” The others glared at him.

Master Mummy pointed at the ‘spirit’s’ face. “This is the guy that I reserved the hotel from! He’s the hotel owner!”

“Gahhh, ya  _ ghot _ me!” He sighed. “I was tryin’ to give the hotel a  _ spookier _ vibe, thought it’d mhake for a ghood story... Buisness has been pretty bhad recently. No guests bheen comin’ in... I couldn’t even afford ta kheep the other staff members!” He shook his head sadly. “I fhigured some ARMS fhighters tellin’ shcary shtories ‘bout the place might liven up buisness a bit...”

Coyle stared in awe. “That... That sounds like a plot from-”

“Ahnd the  _ whorst _ thing-” He continued. “Is that I whoulda gotten away with it if it weren’t for yous meddling  _ kids! _ ”

Coyle briefly considered jumping straight off the hotel’s roof, but narrowly decided against it.

“So, wait, how did you do all those  _ things? _ ” Lola asked, an eyebrow raised.

He shrugged. “Mhostly a mix of teleports ahn’ nightmare gasses...”

Coyle considered jumping again.

Suddenly a bright array of red and blue lights shined out from below. They peered over the roof’s bannister and saw a whole station’s worth of police cars, with BYTE & BARQ at the forefront.

“Guess that sorta that out, then.” Min Min shrugged. “TAKE HIM AWAY, BOYS!~” She called out.

“I mean, has he actually committed any crimes...?” Ribbon Girl asked. “Like, legally?”

Min Min shrugged. “I’m just trying to get home faster, honestly. I’m sick of seeing Misango dressed like that.”


	7. Epilogue

Everyone returned to the car park, ready to drive off back home and never speak of this night again. Many of them left without much of another word, but some stuck around a moment longer to chit chat.

“You did great, Mechy!” Ribbon Girl smiled softly at her.

“Yeah, quick thinking with the whip there!” Min Min winked. “ _ Real Castlevania of you. _ ”

“Thanks!” She smiled back at them, brightly. “...Though Carrie doesn’t  _ use _ a whip, she isn’t a Belmont. She’s got these magic energy thingies! That’s why I threw that glow stick at Spring Man, remember?”

“...Right.” Ribbon GIrl nodded, unsure what a ‘Bellmint’ was.

Coyle approached from nearby. “Are you taking Mechanica back? I’m happy to do so myself if you want, I’d just rather she wasn’t left here waiting for a pick-up.”

“We’ll take her, it’s cool.” Min Min nodded. “Thanks for your help and junk.” She squinted. “ _ I think? _ I guess you didn’t really do much except boss us around, really...”

“S’what I’m here for.” Coyle smirked, heading back to her own car.

“Oh,  _ and...! _ ” Min Min called out again, grinning. Coyle turned back with a raised eyebrow. “...Costume looks good on you!”

Coyle and Mechanica both stifled a laugh, and Ribbon Girl nudged her hard in the shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little Halloween-themed story!
> 
> I didn't begin writing this until just a few days before Halloween, so if it feels rushed or unpolished that's probably why - I'm not used to having deadlines! For what it is I think it's a fun, non-serious story with some good Halloween elements to it. I'd like to do a more horror-focused story some time, but I guess we'll see about that NEXT year...
> 
> Happy Halloweeeeeen!


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